New Car.. GAP Insurance, Ceramic Coat, SMART protect plus, Service Plan??

victor2

I'd go with the experienced valeter too.
Alternatively, just accept that the car will get the inevitable door dinks and stone chips regardless of what protection you have, and just buy a quality car wash and polish such as Autoglym (which Halfrauds sell) and polish it yourself every now and then. You'll only park at the furthest point away from the supermarket entrance the first few times. OH doesn't appreciate it and you can guarantee some numskull in a 4x4 will park next to it anyway!;)

Flyboy152

victor2 wrote: »

I'd go with the experienced valeter too.
Alternatively, just accept that the car will get the inevitable door dinks and stone chips regardless of what protection you have, and just buy a quality car wash and polish such as Autoglym (which Halfrauds sell) and polish it yourself every now and then. You'll only park at the furthest point away from the supermarket entrance the first few times. OH doesn't appreciate it and you can guarantee some numskull in a 4x4 will park next to it anyway!;)

But with SupaGard etc. waxing and polishing will be unnecessary.

Kilty_2

victor2 wrote: »

You'll only park at the furthest point away from the supermarket entrance the first few times.

I disagree - I always have and always will - even did so when I was driving a 8 year old car that already had knackered paintwork.

@Flyboy - are any of the interior protections actually any good? I look after the paint meticulously anyway but I'm interested in something for the interior

Biglad_3

Kilty wrote: »

@Flyboy - are any of the interior protections actually any good? I look after the paint meticulously anyway but I'm interested in something for the interior

Kilty, you can get Supagard interior protection which is very good, it is effectively Scotchguard for fabrics. It is available from the usual auction sites for a reasonable price ! I have applied it to both of our cars without any problems, you just spray it all over from about 6" and leave to dry. I did a test before I applied it and it works really well.

Flyboy152

Kilty wrote: »

I disagree - I always have and always will - even did so when I was driving a 8 year old car that already had knackered paintwork.

@Flyboy - are any of the interior protections actually any good? I look after the paint meticulously anyway but I'm interested in something for the interior

When Flyboy12 and Flyboy10 were in their car seats, I lifted one of them up one day, to find a full pack of Smarties underneath. They had all melted and the colouring had ran all over the beige velour. The last time they had Smarties was when they went to a party three weeks before. Although I ws a bit annoyed, I got a damp cloth with some warm water an a tiny bit of detergent, wiped the offending marks off, not a mark was left. Another time, after topping up the oil, Flyboy12 (he was only Flyboy5 at the time ) ran off with the oil filler cap and put it on the front passenger seat, leaving a nasty black mark on the seat. A bit of a detergent, warm water, a cloth and a bit of determined wiping, it eventually came off. There have been such incidents over the years and although SupaGard is warrantied for only three years, it lasted a lot longer than that. So, I would say, "yes, it does work and is worth it."

If you had the exterior "SupaGarded," there would be no need to "look after the paint meticulously."

Kilty_2

Flyboy152 wrote: »

If you had the exterior "SupaGarded," there would be no need to "look after the paint meticulously."

I think there would be, but maybe my expectations are too high.

Flyboy152

Kilty wrote: »

I think there would be, but maybe my expectations are too high.

By all means give it a good clean, but with a good brand of paint protection, all that would be necessary would be to wash it with a weak solution of non-wax detergent, rinse and chamois and voila, all done. The shine remains for years without the need for waxing.

Kilty_2

It can't possibly add the same kind of protection "for years" that wax does though - else all of the best detailers wouldn't spend hundreds/thousands on wax.

Flyboy152

Kilty wrote: »

It can't possibly add the same kind of protection "for years" that wax does though - else all of the best detailers wouldn't spend hundreds/thousands on wax.

Because they can charge hundreds of pounds for SupaGard and the wax equivalent costs less.

What years of protection does wax give a car that SupaGard can't?

The product also comes with other benefits, such as:

• Keycare-cover for lost keys, with a reward based incentive to return recovered keys.

• A discount card-which, if used wisely, can help mitigate a lot of the cost of the product.

• Window etching with free registration with the International Vehicle Security Register (although many manufacturers do this as standard now).

whiskasfelix

As someone else has also mentioned here AVOID Smart Protect/Smartprotect.

I took out a policy and have just attempted to claim. I've a chip which is about 3mm diameter. The reason i'd like it sorted is that it's quite deep - prob 2mm and i've bare metalwork exposed.

The Smart Protect leaflet shows chips/dents etc in their literature which appear similar to my problem.

Upon trying to claim i'm told the size limit for chips is 1.5mm diameter! Yes, you read that correctly!

When i queried this - and the apparent larger size of chip shown on the marketing literature - i was given the usual guff that's it's not Smart Protect's policy - they are just the handers.

So i paid £300 for a policy that would appear useless and now need to visit Halford's to get the problem resolved.

Caveat Emptor!